VANCOUVER, British Columbia – This is the UFC 131 live blog for all five preliminary bouts in support of tonight’s UFC pay-per-view at the Rogers Arena.
The undercard bouts are Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins, Joey Beltran vs. Aaron Rosa, Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young, Nick Ring vs. James Head and Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Mike Massenzio.
Round 1: A very calm Omigawa walks to the center of the cage with his hands down low. They feel each other out with punches from far out. Omigawa has the better head movement early, but Elkins is outworking him with punch combos. Good lead left hook from Omigawa jacks Elkins’ jaw. Elkins comes back moments later with a hard right hand that backs Omigawa up. Elkins clips Omigawa behind the ear and makes his legs go shaky for a second. Omigawa leaps in and Elkins takes him down, but is forced to relinquish top position when Omigawa looks for a heel hook. Very active first round by both men. Omigawa looks to be loading up for one big punch, and Elkins corner implores him to get off before the Japanese fighter can throw. Elkins is landing more punches, but a lot of them look like arm punches. He gets after Omigawa in the final twenty seconds and has him reeling a bit before the horn. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Elkins.
Round 2: Omigawa starts the second much more aggressively, chasing Elkins across the cage with punches. Elkins corner assures him that Omigawa can’t keep it up the whole round. Almost on cue, Omigawa’s pace slows. Elkins tags Omigawa, but it’s Elkins who seems to be cut around his right eye. Elkins backs Omigawa against the fence and throws a combo, but Omigawa slips most of the punches and fires back one of his own that connects. Omigawa throws a left hook and Elkins beats him with a right hand counter. Good right hand by Omigawa. Elkins unloads a flurry in response, with Omigawa avoiding most of the blows. Omigawa ducks under a punch and lands a nice right. Elkins dives for an awkward takedown, but it’s not even close. Omigawa is the fresher, less damaged fighter at the end of two. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Omigawa.
Round 3: They touch it up to start the final frame and the crowd cheers their efforts so far. Omigawa wastes little time getting a takedown. Elkins thinks about a guillotine, but it isn’t there. Omigawa goes to work with some nice elbows in Elkins’ guard. Elkins thinks about a triangle/armbar combo, but Omigawa escapes and looks to pass. In the process, Elkins scrambles and tries to take top position before they eventually work back to their feet. Elkins’ face is a bloody mess now. Omigawa is still bobbing and weaving well, while Elkins might have tired a bit. Neither man is terribly active in the final thirty seconds, but the crowd cheers them anyway. Good first fight. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Omigawa.
Darren Elkins def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – This is the UFC 131 live blog for all five preliminary bouts in support of tonight’s UFC pay-per-view at the Rogers Arena.
The undercard bouts are Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins, Joey Beltran vs. Aaron Rosa, Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young, Nick Ring vs. James Head and Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Mike Massenzio.
Round 1: A very calm Omigawa walks to the center of the cage with his hands down low. They feel each other out with punches from far out. Omigawa has the better head movement early, but Elkins is outworking him with punch combos. Good lead left hook from Omigawa jacks Elkins’ jaw. Elkins comes back moments later with a hard right hand that backs Omigawa up. Elkins clips Omigawa behind the ear and makes his legs go shaky for a second. Omigawa leaps in and Elkins takes him down, but is forced to relinquish top position when Omigawa looks for a heel hook. Very active first round by both men. Omigawa looks to be loading up for one big punch, and Elkins corner implores him to get off before the Japanese fighter can throw. Elkins is landing more punches, but a lot of them look like arm punches. He gets after Omigawa in the final twenty seconds and has him reeling a bit before the horn. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Elkins.
Round 2: Omigawa starts the second much more aggressively, chasing Elkins across the cage with punches. Elkins corner assures him that Omigawa can’t keep it up the whole round. Almost on cue, Omigawa’s pace slows. Elkins tags Omigawa, but it’s Elkins who seems to be cut around his right eye. Elkins backs Omigawa against the fence and throws a combo, but Omigawa slips most of the punches and fires back one of his own that connects. Omigawa throws a left hook and Elkins beats him with a right hand counter. Good right hand by Omigawa. Elkins unloads a flurry in response, with Omigawa avoiding most of the blows. Omigawa ducks under a punch and lands a nice right. Elkins dives for an awkward takedown, but it’s not even close. Omigawa is the fresher, less damaged fighter at the end of two. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Omigawa.
Round 3: They touch it up to start the final frame and the crowd cheers their efforts so far. Omigawa wastes little time getting a takedown. Elkins thinks about a guillotine, but it isn’t there. Omigawa goes to work with some nice elbows in Elkins’ guard. Elkins thinks about a triangle/armbar combo, but Omigawa escapes and looks to pass. In the process, Elkins scrambles and tries to take top position before they eventually work back to their feet. Elkins’ face is a bloody mess now. Omigawa is still bobbing and weaving well, while Elkins might have tired a bit. Neither man is terribly active in the final thirty seconds, but the crowd cheers them anyway. Good first fight. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Omigawa.
Darren Elkins def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
Sources close to the planned fight confirmed to MMA Fighting on Monday that verbal agreements were in place, though contracts have not yet been signed. The booking was first reported by MMA Junkie.
Filed under: UFC, NewsOn the verge of returning from a knee injury that has kept him on the shelf, Darren Elkins will drop down a class when he comes back.
Elkins, an Indiana-based lightweight who went 1-1 in his two UFC appearances last year, will dr…
On the verge of returning from a knee injury that has kept him on the shelf, Darren Elkins will drop down a class when he comes back.
Elkins, an Indiana-based lightweight who went 1-1 in his two UFC appearances last year, will drop to featherweight for his next bout in the promotion. Elkins confirmed the plan with MMA Fighting on Wednesday.
Filed under: UFC, NewsOn the verge of returning from a knee injury that has kept him on the shelf, Darren Elkins will drop down a class when he comes back.
Elkins, an Indiana-based lightweight who went 1-1 in his two UFC appearances last year, will dr…
On the verge of returning from a knee injury that has kept him on the shelf, Darren Elkins will drop down a class when he comes back.
Elkins, an Indiana-based lightweight who went 1-1 in his two UFC appearances last year, will drop to featherweight for his next bout in the promotion. Elkins confirmed the plan with MMA Fighting on Wednesday.
A knee injury has forced lightweight Darren Elkins out of of his scheduled bout at UFC 123 next week and he will be replaced by fellow Midwest fighter Mike Lullo.
Elkins (12-2, 1-1 UFC) was set to meet UFC newcomer Edson Barboza on the pay-per-view ev…
A knee injury has forced lightweight Darren Elkins out of of his scheduled bout at UFC 123 next week and he will be replaced by fellow Midwest fighter Mike Lullo.
Elkins (12-2, 1-1 UFC) was set to meet UFC newcomer Edson Barboza on the pay-per-view event at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich., on Nov. 20. But Elkins, who fights out of the Duneland Vale Tudo camp in Valparaiso, Ind., announced Wednesday on his Facebook page that he had to pull out of the fight. Sources close to his camp told MMA Fighting that Elkins injured his knee working on takedowns.
Filed under: UFCBrazilian fighter Charles Oliveira may be facing a step up in competition when he takes on Efrain Escudero at Wednesday night’s UFC Fight Night on Spike TV, but that doesn’t mean he felt the need to do anything special to prepare for th…
Brazilian fighter Charles Oliveira may be facing a step up in competition when he takes on Efrain Escudero at Wednesday night’s UFC Fight Night on Spike TV, but that doesn’t mean he felt the need to do anything special to prepare for the specific challenges Escudero presents.
Speaking with MMA Fighting last week, Oliveira (13-0) said he didn’t bring in any wrestling-oriented sparring partners to mimic Escudero’s style, mainly because he doesn’t feel that he needs to. That’s because in a head-to-head competition, according to Oliveira, jiu-jitsu is simply the superior ground fighting style.
“We have no wrestlers helping, because the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is better for the ground game,” Oliveira said via an interpreter. “It’s above the wrestling. I’m just training normally, nothing special.”
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – This is the UFC 131 live blog for all five preliminary bouts in support of tonight’s UFC pay-per-view at the Rogers Arena.
Michihiro Omigawa
On the verge of returning from a knee injury that has kept him on the shelf, 
Brazilian fighter